In the manufacture of pelletized plastic for subsequent use in such applications as injection molding, strands of heat softened plastic are forced out of an extruder. Conventionally the strands then pass through a water bath to chill and solidify the extruded plastic. Chilled strands are then fed through a chopper which cuts the strands into small pellets for storage, shipment and subsequent use.
In known manufacturing processes the formed pellets are typically allowed to dry for about 1/2 hour and once dried samples are periodically taken for quality control testing. If it is determined that the material being extruded fails to meet quality specifications, such as, for example, lacking appropriate pigmentation to produce the desired finished color, literally hundreds of pounds of scrap may well have been produced before existing and standard quality control procedures identify the problem. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved quality control apparatus and process in the formation of plastic pellets and other plastic products.